The Tin Star (Ranch Series #1)

TITLE: The Tin Star
AUTHOR: J.L. Langley
ISBN: 1-59632-215-2
PUBLISHER: Loose Id, LLC
LENGTH: Novel

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RATING:

BOOK BLURB:
When James Killian comes out to his father, he finds himself banished from his home and fired from his job. His savior comes in the unlikely form of Ethan Whitehall, his older brother’s best friend. Ethan has always had a soft spot where Jamie Killian was concerned, and he will do whatever it takes to keep his new lover safe.

REVIEW:
Jamie Killian is the foreman on the ranch his father owns, but when he comes out to his father, he is forced to leave his home, his job – even his horse. Before it can really sink in that he’s now homeless and jobless (and horseless!), his older brother’s long-time friend (and Jamie’s long-time crush) offers Jamie a job and a place to stay at the Tin Star.

Jamie is young, hardworking, and somewhat of an idealist. He came out to his father because he feels that he shouldn’t have to hide who he really is, especially from his family. Ethan, on the other hand, is in the closet and has no intention of coming out. That is, until he and Jamie get together. Jamie won’t hide from anyone and Ethan can’t hide if he’s with Jamie. It’s nice to see how they both evolve throughout the story as they deal with the prejudices around them, soon becoming home for each other. I’d recommend this to anyone who likes their cowboys a little on the sweet and sexy side (with a little suspense thrown in the spice things up).

So Much More Than Naked by D.J. Manly

TITLE: So Much More Than Naked
AUTHOR: D.J. Manly
ISBN: 978-1-55487-041-7
PUBLISHER: Extasy Books
LENGTH: Novella

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BOOK BLURB:
Darcy has always been in control. He had to be. He had assumed responsibility for his younger brother Martin when their parents died. Now Martin was getting married and he insisted that Darcy have a date for his wedding.

Without Darcy’s knowledge Martin goes looking for a date for his big brother in the personals. But he slips up and punches in the wrong number.

Darcy reluctantly agrees to meet with the person who answers his brother’s ad, figuring he’ll ask the girl to the wedding and that will be it. However, it’s Ryan he ends up meeting, and he’s NO GIRL. In fact he’s a Dom looking for a submissive, and Darcy seems to be right up his alley.

REVIEW:
Darcy and Ryan meet through a mix-up involving Darcy’s younger brother and a personal ad. Desperate for a date to his brother’s wedding, Darcy goes along with the blind date, but when he gets to the apartment to meet his mystery woman, it turns out to be a mystery man.

I liked Ryan right from the start. He seemed very self-assured, very comfortable with who he was, what he wanted, and how he felt about Darcy. Ryan was very open, even sweet. Darcy was a little harder for me to like. He was the exact opposite of Ryan – stubborn, emotionally closed off, and even lacking in self-esteem. The closer Ryan tried to get to him, the more Ryan tried to break through his walls, the more Darcy closed up, lashed out, until their sweet beginning became quite the angst fest. I felt very sorry for both of the characters. Ryan because he was such a giving person to Darcy and Darcy because of his emotional issues.

The BDSM theme was used, it seemed to me, as a therapy for Darcy’s emotional problems. It seems the more of an emotional hold Ryan had on Darcy, the more Darcy wanted to run or fight or both. I didn’t agree with BDSM being used in this way, but it did seem realistic to the characters and their situation.

There’s a sequel out there, so it might be interesting to see where these two boys have gone since this book. I’d probably recommend this one to someone who doesn’t mind a good dose of angst thrown in with their kink.

The Read Your Name Challenge ‘09

While browsing the ‘net today, I found the Read Your Name Challenge so, of course, I had to join!

Using your first name, or blogger name, or your pets name, or even your favorite literary character’s name; whichever you like, choose books with first title letters that spell out your name. (Audio books and eBooks are also okay.)

C – Crossing Borders by Z.A. Maxfield
H – Hearts and Bones by M.L. Rhodes
R – Ransom by Lee Rowan
I – I Spy Something Bloody by Josh Lanyon
S – Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyon
T – The Tin Star by J.L. Langley
I – Insubordination by Alex Beercroft
N – Never Let Go by M.L. Rhodes
A – Altered Heart by Kate Steele

I wanted to use my username (Anesthezea), but had to ditch that idea when I couldn’t find any male/male erotica titles that started with “Z”. Changes may occur, but I’ll try to stick as much as I can to this original list. The challenge runs from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009, so I’ve got plenty of time to get through all these yummy books!

I will be tracking this challenge here.